Linda Vogel

Linda J. Vogel (b.2/12/40) is a United Methodist deacon whose teaching and writing embody her call to a ministry of justice. Dr. Vogel's life work has focused on teaching and learning in faith communities beginning with children and moving later into a special interest in religious education with older adults. This work, along with her more recent writings in adult education and then in spirituality (the latter in partnership with her lifetime friend and spouse, Dwight), has made a significant contribution to our understanding of religious education. After twenty years as Associate Professor and Director of Continuing Education at Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa, Dr. Vogel taught for sixteen years as Professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary where she is now Professor Emerita of Christian Education and Senior Scholar.

Biography

Born into a "Santa Fe railroad family" in 1940 and raised in Topeka, Kansas, Linda Vogel was the eldest of three daughters of Samuel P. and Gladys M. Baker. This year, as Linda was packing to move to Pilgrim Place in Claremont, California, she found a penny postcard (addressed to her with a one cent stamp postmarked 1947 and a picture of the San Bernardino Union Station) with this message: "Better jump on a diesel and come on out. You'd really like it. Love, Aunt Gertrude." Linda commented, "I imagine Aunt Gertrude would be surprised to find me living here!"

Linda graduated from Topeka High School (after Brown vs. Board of Education), but she noted that there was only one high school in Topeka then, and the high school had always been integrated. After one year at North Central College in Naperville IL, Linda married Dwight at Grace Evangelical United Brethren Church in Topeka on June 14, 1959.

She gradauated from Boston University (1963) while Dwight was in graduate school. She finished one year of her master's in Christian education at Andover Newton before they moved to Evanston, IL so Dwight could complete his Ph.D. at Northwestern University. Linda was able to complete two quarters of study at Garrett Theological Seminary and to write her thesis with Wesner Fallaw, graduating with an M.R.E. (cum laude) from Andover Newton in 1964.

The Vogel's family expanded when they adopted their first child (Peter Jonathan) in 1965, became legal guardians for their second but eldest son, Mark Stephen Pulver, in 1966, and adopted their daughter, Kristin Deborah, in 1967.

It is clear that teaching has been at the heart of Dr. Vogel's ministry, as she embodies her call as deacon to "service" through love and justice. From the beginning, Dr. Vogel focused on more than the content of teaching, but she has come to realize that process is equally important as the subject to be explored. She believes that the tools and resources of process can be used to guide persons in engaging content at an advanced level that they have not yet experienced.

In September 1965 the Vogels moved to LeMars, IA where they taught at Westmar College until 1985. During that time, Dr. Vogel taught Christian education, developed a minor in gerontology, and served as Director of Continuing Education. She shares that one of her joys during this time was to be the advisor for the increasing number of second career students. This experience with her students contributed to Dr. Vogel's growing interest in religious education for older adults.

Helping a Child Understand Death
, (1975) which was published by Fortress Press and later translated into Spanish was completed during Dr. Vogel's first sabbatical at the
Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research
at St. John's University in Collegeville MN. Following her sabbatical, Dr. Vogel commuted to the University of Nebraska at Omaha to complete a graduate specialization in gerontology in 1977.

A tiny Iowa town (Martelle) was the site of the Vogels' second sabbatical in 1979-1980 so Linda could attend the University of Iowa. She graduated with a Ph.D. in adult education and gerontology in 1981 with a dissertation on
How Older Adults Perceive and Legitimize Their Adult Participation in Schools and Churches
. Dr. Vogel's second book,
The Religious Education of Older Adults
, was published in 1984 and she began doing continuing education events in gerontology, in addition to events on death and dying.

Dr Vogel was a diaconal minister who was later ordained as a deacon in full connection in the United Methodist Church. So when the Vogels left Westmar College in 1985 after twenty years, they asked for an appointment to a church where they could serve in ministry together. This led them to St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Dubuque, IA where Dr. Vogel served as Minister of Education and continued her teaching ministry with the laity of the church. It was the tragic death of a young woman in this congregation that later would lead to Dr. Vogel's book,
Rituals for Resurrection
(1996).

In 1987 Dr. Vogel was urged to join the faculty at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and after a period of discernment, she decided to do so. After a one-year commuter marriage, Dwight left St. Luke's to join Linda in Chicago where he, too, joined the faculty at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

During their time at Garrett-Evangelical, the Vogels spent one January traveling with their good friend, Father David Fleming, S.M., in India where he was living. It was during this trip that Linda met Mother Teresa in Calcutta. The power of that experience can still be heard as Linda recounts the 20-minute conversation in which Mother Teresa talked of her ministry and then asked for prayers that she and her sisters "remain faithful and not interfere with God's work."

Teaching and Learning in Communities of Faith: Empowering Adults through Religious Education
(1991), a book that serves as a valuable guide for religious education because of its biblical, theological and educational grounding, as well as its practical proposals for how to help adults "sculpt meaning" for lives of faith was the result of Dr. Vogel's next sabbatical.

Deeply held commitments and shared interest led the Vogels to begin a period of joint writing projects with a one-semester sabbatical at the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at St. John's where they completed their first book together,
Sacramental Living: Falling Stars and Coloring outside the Lines
(Upper Room Books, 1999). This was followed by
Syncopated Grace: Times and Seasons with God
(2002).

Linda Vogel retired in 2003 as Professor Emerita and Senior Scholar at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. In summing up Dr. Vogel's contribution to teaching, Dr. Jack Seymour, Dean of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, wrote, "Linda was a wonderful colleague - team teaching with energy and joy - and standing beside Ph.D. students as they grew in their professional and scholarly and teaching development."

In a recent interview with Dr. Vogel, I asked her about the significant influences on her life and teaching ministry. She talked at some length of Ellen Oliver who taught at Westmar and was a mentor who helped her learn what it means to be a woman and a professor. This was in the days when gender expectations were that women wore skirts and were deferential to men in authority. So when the President's secretary was chastised for wearing a pants suit to work, Mrs. Oliver and Dr. Vogel in solidarity wore pants suits to teach their classes.

Dr. Vogel's advocacy for justice was only beginning. While living in LeMars, Iowa, Dr. Vogel was one of the original organizers of a rural hospice, one of the first in the country, as well as one of the original founders and first president of the League of Women Voters.

Another influence named by Dr. Vogel was Randolph Crump Miller's work on biblical theology. This influence is clearly evident in
Teaching and Learning in Communities of Faith
as she challenges teachers and learners to make connections between the biblical Story and their own life experiences and questions. Dr. Vogel also reflected on the influence of Maria Harris, especially her overall understanding of Christian religious education developed in the book
Fashion Me a People
, and of Thomas Groome's shared praxis approach to teaching and learning.

One group that was of particular importance in Dr. Vogel's professional development was the United Methodist Association of Professors (now Scholars) in Christian Education which holds biennial consultations on topics of importance to the church and world.

As a young teacher, Linda was treated as a colleague by this group of college and seminary professors who mentored her and encouraged her to get her doctorate. One member of this group, Dr. Nelle Slater, became Dr. Vogel's mentor and life-long friend as they first worked together in a consultation task group on the issue of Christian Education as a discipline.

Contributions to Christian Education

In addition to her contributions to our knowledge and understanding of Christian religious education through her publications, Dr. Vogel has also made a substantive contribution to the church through her leadership.

I had an opportunity to work with Dr. Vogel on a candidacy task force at the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry for the "new" diaconal ministry in The United Methodist Church in the late 1970's. Her insight and wisdom were instrumental in creating a candidacy process focused on mentoring and spiritual discernment for persons called to a ministry of justice and service. Together we participated in early mentor trainings for the church.

Dr. Vogel continued as a consultant to the Division of Diaconal Ministry in the years of the United Methodist Church's ministry study that followed as the church considered whether or not to establish a permanent order of ordained deacons. During this time, Dr. Vogel wrote "Two responses to 'diaconal ministry: vision and reality'" published in
Quarterly Review: A Journal of Scholarly Reflection for Ministry
in 1991.

Our professional relationship and friendship continued to develop through our shared participation in the United Methodist Association of Scholars in Christian Education (UMASCE). In her term as President of this organization, Dr. Vogel led our biennial consultation in an exploration of cultural pluralism and the teaching office in the church. This led to her article, "Cultural pluralism and the teaching office: Where do we go from here?" in
Quarterly Review: A Journal of Scholarly Reflection for Ministry
in Fall 1992.

Dr. Vogel's commitment to justice led to her participation in a UMASCE task group on welcoming congregations. Abingdon published the work of this task group.
People of a Compassionate God: Creating Welcoming Congregations
in 2003. Dr. Vogel wrote the introduction: "A guide to congregational change"; Chapter Five: "Transformative teaching and learning"; and Chapter Eight: "Claiming ministries of compassion and justice: being the body of Christ."

Dr. Vogel has also served on the Curriculum Resources Committee for The United Methodist Church. This is the committee that plans, reviews, and oversees the publication of curriculum for our denomination.

Dr. Vogel continues to be an active scholar and teacher. It was her commitment to social justice that led her and her husband, Dwight, to move to Pilgrim Place when they retired. Linda wrote, "Our decision to move to Pilgrim Place was a great surprise to us. This community reached out and drew us in with its deep commitment to social justice and its intentional Christian community. We moved in on Ash Wednesday, February 9, 2005 and hung our last picture on Easter Sunday afternoon. This proved to be the most strange and unique Lent of our lives!"

In retirement, Dr. Vogel agreed to run for election to the board of directors of the 1,000 member Christian Educator's Fellowship. She served as editor of the CEF publication, "Christians in Education," for a year and is now serving as President of the CEF board. She will continue on the board for four more years.

Dr. Vogel's commitment "to pay my rent on the planet" continues to draw her to work for ecological responsibility and peace with justice during a future that she describes as an "Ezra-Nehemiah time," when so much change in our world causes communities of faith and political institutions to "build the walls higher and throw out the foreign wives!" Dr. Vogel asserts, "Individualism and greed and attempts to isolate and marginalize the poor in our world can only lead to destruction and despair. As Christians, we must begin to work together with persons of all faiths and of no faith for the common good, which by its very nature must be for the good of the whole creation."

Those of us who have been colleagues, students, and friends of Dr. Vogel are grateful for her ongoing leadership as we continue to be blessed by her wisdom, insight, and passion for justice.

Excerpts from Publications

As an ordained deacon, I serve the church by teaching and learning with students as we seek ways of doing educational ministry that empower all Christians - ordained, consecrated, and lay - to be more whole and to be the body of Christ in the world. Together we become more skilled in choosing resources and creating environments and processes that help others sculpt meaning in life and walk more faithfully toward God's kingdom.

Whoever seeks to write a book on religious education faces the dilemma of balancing the desire to explore broad, all-inclusive questions of journeying in (any) faith against the need to own one's identity as a person of a particular faith. I am a Christian, a fact all those who accompany me through these pages should know. But I am also a person who recognizes that there are many paths to faith and that my path is not the only, or even the only Christian, path. I desire to learn from others even as I hope my experience may be useful to those whose faith journeys are different from mine. I have tried to draw on some other faith traditions and to provide an opportunity for those in other traditions to appropriate certain underlying principles and assumptions by filling them with their own faith-story content. It is my deep hope and my prayer that this book on adult religious education - written from the perspective I know best - will add to the dialogue about making and discovering meaning and about nourishing souls.

We know who we are - children of God loved and forgiven and called by God! And we know Whose we are - children of God who are called to be witnesses to God's love and care for all the world. We are therefore able to share in the festivity that grows out of our shared stories and visions. Our identity as God's beloved sons and daughters causes us to seek ways to celebrate and repeatedly affirm that we are who we are!

Beginning with case narratives of five United Methodist congregations that engaged in a process of study and discernment to decide whether or not they would publicly declare themselves to be "reconciling congregations" open to persons of all sexual orientations, the five joint authors of this book explore what strategies are effective and life-giving and what actions were not effective, or even destructive, as these congregations faced a difficult and potentially divisive issue. The book is meant to assist congregations in living faithfully into whatever difficult issues and decisions they may face.

This monograph focuses on all adult education (secular) and explores ways in which the spiritual dimensions of human life enter into adult teaching and learning. Dr. Vogel's chapter examines ways in which the teacher's own spirituality impacts his or her teaching in either positive or negative ways.

Focusing on her theme of building communities of faith, Dr. Vogel discusses how a community of faith can provide a ministry of caring to those who are grieving, particularly through rituals that are tied to stories of faith.

Written after the two and a half year dying process of her father when her own children were young, Dr. Vogel wrote the book she was looking for but could not find. She explores ways to journey with children so they may experience dying and death that as life-giving.

Author Information

Sondra Higgins Matthaei

Sondra Higgins Matthaei received her Ph.D. in Theology and Personality with a focus in Religious Education from Claremont School of Theology in 1989. She serves as Professor of Christian Religious Education at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City Missouri.